Boston’s history with gangsters and goons goes far beyond the legacy of Whitey Bulger. This week we’re featuring three stories from our back catalog about very different aspects of organized crime in Boston. We’ll be discussing Charles “King” Solomon’s reign in the South End, the Tong War’s place in Chinatown history, and the Brinks Robbery in the North End, known as the crime of the century.
Brinks Robbery
- WCVB has photos from the Brinks crime scene and investigation
- A summary of the case from the FBI.
- A WGBH interview focusing on the role of “Specs” O’Keefe.
- As promised, The Great Muppet Caper, which Nikki feels is related.
- Below, more diagrams of how the crime unfolded.
The Reign of Charles “King” Solomon
- An NSA guide to radio intelligence during prohibition.
- The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts
- Boston Organized Crime
Chinatown
- The Eagle Seeks a Helpless Quarry, K Scott Wong
- Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts, Alan Rogers
- “The Chinese Boycott,” John W Foster
- Contemporary news coverage of the 1903 raid and convictions in the case of the 1907 massacre.
- The header photo was taken on Harrison Ave in Chinatown in approximately 1890.
Featured Historic Site
Our featured historic site this week is the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum because, as we say in the episode, the Tea Party was both organized and criminal. While nobody knows the exact location of the historic Griffin’s Wharf, the museum, on the Congress Street Bridge over Fort Point Channel, is within a few blocks of the original. I (Jake) can remember throwing tea off the decks of the ships as a small child, before the original museum burned in 2001. Historically minded children of all ages will enjoy the rebuilt and revitalized attraction. Hours vary through the week, so visit their website to confirm when planning your visit.
At the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum you can be a part of the famous event that forever changed the course of American history! Historical interpreters, interactive exhibits, full-scale restored 18th Century sailing vessels, historic artifacts, and the award-winning multi-sensory documentary “Let It Begin Here” are just a taste of what you will experience during your visit.
Meet the courageous men and women responsible for this historic act of defiance and learn what role you will play in “single most important event leading up to the American Revolution.” Complement your experience with Abigail’s Tea Room, where you can enjoy freshly baked goods, savory lunch items, historically inspired spirits, and literally taste history by sampling the five teas thrown overboard at the Boston Tea Party!
Each fully immersive tour will last approximately one hour and is a fully-guided experience throughout the ships & museum. Your 18th Century Host will lead you through an interactive colonial town meeting, onto one of our ships to “dump the tea”, and through the museum experience as you discover what happened during the single most important event leading up to the American Revolution!
Upcoming Event
Boston by Foot is an excellent local walking tour host, featuring some fairly standard fare, such as Freedom Trail tours, literary tours, and architecture tours, as well as very specialized and offbeat offerings. Their May tour of the month is a visit to the Ladder Blocks neighborhood:
Boston’s Ladder Blocks are bounded by Washington and Tremont Streets south of School Street. The streets that connect them create a street grid shaped like a ladder, giving the district the name by which it was once known. These blocks have a rich history, from life as a residential neighborhood to a hub of small specialty retail. In this walk we trace the architectural and social history of the Ladder Blocks as a seedbed of Boston’s intellectual identity and the nexus of its cultural character. The scale and character of this neighborhood and many of its streets currently are under threat as the Ladder Blocks face the pressure of large-scale redevelopment. Connecting the Theatre District and the central business district, this walk includes the Temple Place Historic District; arts venues from the Paramount Theatre to the Orpheum; and historically significant buildings from the Masonic Temple to the Parker House Hotel.
This tour is presented in partnership with the Boston Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit organization that protects and improves the quality of Boston’s distinct architectural heritage through advocacy and education. The Alliance is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2018.
The Ladder Blocks tour will be offered to Boston By Foot members only on May 20, and to the public on May 27 at 2pm. Tickets for the public tour are $15, please register online in advance.